Marketing Strategies for 2022
With every new year comes new marketing tactics and trends designed to increase brand awareness and community engagement. Communication channels and information technology continue to develop at lightning speed, thus, necessitating organizations stay up to date on marketing strategies for the modern era. Understanding what’s changed, and what’s predicted to work, can help organizational leaders stay ahead of the curve when it comes to engagement and outreach. The only thing constant about modern marketing platforms is that they are always evolving.
Organizational leadership should be involved in digital marketing efforts.
Effective marketing isn’t just the social media person posting, snapping, and tweeting about company initiatives. In today’s world, competitive companies will include organizational leadership at all levels in marketing initiatives. The online presence of digitally-savvy organizational leaders can greatly enhance and amplify marketing efforts. Additionally, such digital leadership initiatives can make great strides in developing community relationships, building brand awareness, and effectively communicating organizational priorities in an authentic way. Organizational leaders can participate in marketing content creation, provide behind-the-scenes perspectives, and serve as figureheads or spokespersons that diverse audiences can connect. Marketing professionals should consider ways organization members can be featured in both digital and traditional marketing content. As our society becomes more and more disconnected, highlighting the community of people that make your organization great can help facilitate a sense of connection that builds trust and fosters long-term community relationships. We all want to know the “who” behind the “what”.
Video is key to marketing success.
While creative copy and pretty pictures have their place, video content continues to increase in terms of popularity among social media users. Short videos that immediately grab attention, deliver a well-crafted message, and prompt user action are one of the keys to marketing success in 2022. Videos no longer just belong on YouTube. Skilled communications and marketing professionals will incorporate video content into a multi-channel social media approach, along with web, e-newsletter, and social media ad content. Video helps build a connection with the audience by engaging multiple senses, along with providing both verbal and non-verbal communication. When utilizing video content, remember to evaluate content accessibility and take steps to improve 508 compliance through closed caption and transcript options.
Invest in long-form content.
For years, the common theme of marketing trends has been to shorten the length of advertising content. We went from 15-minute TED Talks to 15-second TikToks. While average attention spans are reported to have declined over the past few years, long-form content, such as mini-documentaries and informative blogs, remains popular (and useful!) in terms of effective marketing content. When people find an interesting post about a brand or organization with which they are unfamiliar, they look for more information. Organizations can supplement short-form attention-grabbing marketing content with longer-form, informative content available to interested parties. Such synergy between short-form and long-form content can facilitate a sales funnel of sorts as users move from the window display (short-form content) to evaluating the wares inside the figurative store (long-form content). When organizations just focus on short-form content creation, they miss valuable opportunities to cultivate relationships and recruit brand ambassadors. The creation of high-quality long-form content should be prioritized by organizational leaders in 2022.
Prioritize user privacy and information security in all things marketing-related.
Marketing is no longer a siloed department that consists of creatives. The rise of technology has changed the way effective marketing teams operate, and including technologists in the marketing mix is imperative for continued success in this arena. Digital marketing strategies frequently collect or utilize user data to improve campaign results; however, such strategies may be perceived as an invasion of privacy. Additionally, data collection on any scale can put the organization at risk for legal liability should IT security practices not be implemented effectively. Best practices for marketing initiatives that include user data collection are for organizations to take proactive steps to protect user data and disclose information collection and intended usage. When organizations fail to disclose data collection and such information is leveraged without user consent to deliver unsolicited sales pitches, such irresponsible initiatives may be regarded as intrusive and damage the organization’s reputation and consumer trust. Prioritize the inclusion of IT professionals and consultation in your organization’s marketing initiatives in 2022, and take steps to communicate data collection and usage, information security practices, and easy-to-access opt-in/opt-out features.
Create social media platform-specific content.
All too often, busy marketing professionals post the same content across multiple social media platforms. When these platforms have different audiences and functionalities, such cross-posting can diminish returns on the content, along with tarnish perceptions of the organization’s capabilities and value. Cross-posting the same content across multiple social media platforms is time-efficient; however, successful marketing professionals will allot adequate time and resources to create platform-specific social media content. What goes over well on one platform may not on another platform. Understanding platform-specific audience demographics, along with app features and functionality, will help improve the ROI of online outreach. Conducting periodic market research on each platform and developing a marketing strategy specific to each social media platform can help increase follower engagement, segment audiences, and enhance organic social media reach. Additionally, marketers should prioritize the creation of both permanent and ephemeral social media content on apps that offer both options, as the two types of content have the potential to reach different audiences.
Interactive experiences are paramount.
Truly impactful marketing initiatives in 2022 will go beyond the screen, facilitating interactive, hybrid experiences for organizational audiences. For decades, marketing has been grouped into two categories - digital and traditional. As technological capabilities and widespread adoption continue to increase, the bounds between the digital and physician world will dissipate. Marketing professionals should consider ways digital tools can amplify in-person events to create a truly immersive experience that reaches a broader audience. Recognizing the potential interplay between technology and the physical space will be essential to memorable engagement that transcends the half-life of a trending tweet. Interactive marketing trends to watch in 2022 include augmented reality/virtual reality, live streaming events, and in-app interactive features such as messaging, questionnaires, and polls.
Learn more about marketing strategy for mission-driven organizations:
If your organization is looking for a creative partner to provide marketing consulting and management services, contact Becker Digital. We specialize in going beyond the screen and engaging diverse communities in a meaningful way. All of our work is customized to the organizational client’s needs. Contact us to schedule a complimentary call and learn more about how marketing strategy can enhance your organization’s mission.